UT Texas Hillel is a campus chapter of the
national body, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, which began at
the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana in 1923. The national foundation
promotes Jewish values on university campuses within the U.S. and
internationally.

The UT chapter formed in 1929 as the B’nai B’rith
Hillel Foundation, and membership remains open to Jewish students enrolled at
UT, UT alumni, and the Austin Jewish community. The chapter is comprised of a
Board of Directors, Hillel Staff, and a Student Council. Known as the Building
Fund Committee (1945-1967) and the Advisory Board (1967-1984), the Board of
Directors (1984-present) has consisted of community members who invest their
time in Hillel’s development. The Staff were paid members of UT Texas Hillel
and consisted primarily of the Director, a Rabbi who is not a member of the
Board of Directors. The records show that a Secretary and Program Coordinator
were later added to the staff.

The foundation has sought “to provide
facilities for religious, cultural, educational, social events, social welfare,
and interfaith work amongst the university community.” Hillel fulfilled these
goals by funding a new building, offering Shabbat services and Beit Midrash
classes, granting refugee scholarships, and actively calling attention to
events happening in Israel and the Soviet Union through campus protests,
lectures, dinners, and ads in the Daily Texan. It also offered a variety of
activities for Jewish fraternities and sororities and the UT community,
including art festivals, Israeli dancing, an Outstanding Guest Speakers series,
and hosting the annual Israeli Block Party.

The Student Council and the
Directors on the Hillel Staff conducted the essential work of the foundation.
Since the Student Council changed yearly it is hard to note any one influential
member; this is not so for the Directorship. Principal Directors included
Elconan Saulson (1947-1963), who spearheaded the Refugee Scholarship efforts,
and Cary Krozberg (1971- 1972, 1982 1987), who worked with the Student Council
throughout the 1980’s to promote issues related to Israel and Soviet Jewry.
Other Hillel Directors include:

The records of UT Texas Hillel,
1929-2004, contain six linear feet of foundation documents, correspondence,
meeting minutes, self-published newsletters and brochures, photographs, printed
newspaper clippings, and scrapbooks, which document the organized activities of
the University of Texas’ Jewish student body. The material is divided into
three series: UT Hillel, comprised of records and publications created by or
directly related to the UT chapter, including the Board of Directors, Hillel
Staff, and the Student Council; Hillel Beyond UT with material from the
national foundation and other chapters; and Jewish Interests, which contains
material not specifically related to Hillel about local and international
Jewish activities and experiences.

A substantial portion of the records
cover the early years (1935-1955) of UT Texas Hillel, specifically outlining
the Building Fund Committee’s (later called the Advisory Board, then Board of
Directors) struggle to construct their own building in West Campus. The first
two Directors, Newton Friedman (1942-1944) and Elconan Saulson (1947-1963),
complement the Building Fund Committee’s efforts, while establishing Hillel’s
importance within the UT community.

Correspondence written by each of
the foundation’s hired Directors (2 inches) illustrates the individual Rabbi’s
views, social concerns, and plans and ambitions for Hillel. Also, the Student
Council records (6 inches) illuminate the guidance of the Director and
document, primarily through printed newspaper clippings and meeting minutes,
cultural and social activities such as religious programs, campaigns for
oppressed Jews, and local social gatherings.

The records not directly
related to UT Texas Hillel represent activities conducted by Hillel foundations
at national, state, and university levels. The Jewish Interests records contain
collected materials about activities UT Texas Hillel members participated in,
as well as world events impacting the Jewish community at large and resonating
with the Director’s social concerns.

Access Restrictions

Unrestricted access.

Use Restrictions

Unrestricted use.

Preferred Citation

UT Texas Hillel, Jewish Campus Life
Records, 1929-2004, the Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at
Austin.